You started out in a law firm and now work at the intersection of tech and mobility. What made you take that leap, and how has the shift shaped your perspective as a lawyer?
I started in arbitration, and during the COVID lockdown, I got moved to the tech team at Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas—just one of those internal reshuffles. I won’t pretend I had some grand vision of becoming a tech lawyer. I didn’t. But once I got into it, I was hooked.
What grabbed me was the scale. The platforms we advise on touch millions of people every day. That kind of reach makes the work feel urgent and real; it’s decisions that shape how people experience technology. Millions of people interact with the apps and platforms we advise on, and knowing that our legal work influences those experiences is both fascinating and humbling
The shift into mobility deepened that perspective even further. It pushed me from being a lawyer who simply advises businesses to one who really understands where the business is coming from—what it's trying to build, who it’s serving, how to get there without breaking things legally and how to make things work without compromising the law or the user.
It’s changed how I approach the law. I’m still a lawyer, but now I’m also a partner in growth—helping businesses move fast, stay smart, and build responsibly.
With new-age tech regulations on the rise, there’s bound to be friction with user data protection. How do you usually approach that gap?
I usually approach that gap with curiosity more than conflict. Whenever there’s friction—between regulation, user rights, and business goals—I try to understand what’s really driving each side. What’s the intention behind the law? What are users trying to protect? And what does the business actually need to deliver?
Tech is everywhere now—ubiquitous, embedded in everyday life—so it’s not enough to pick a side
The goal is to find solutions that let people experience technology safely and responsibly while still allowing businesses to innovate and operate at scale.
It’s not always easy, but it’s absolutely possible with the right mindset.
You can’t force-fit outdated models into new systems. You have to stay open, adaptive, and relentlessly practical.
Platform-based mobility often poses new questions around fairness, pricing, liabilities etc. Is there a particular grey area you find especially nuanced?
One grey area I find especially nuanced is how the law often frames platform-based mobility. There’s a tendency to see corporations as the bad guys and users or workers as the ones needing protection. But the reality is a lot more layered than that. Many of these platforms are genuinely solving real-world problems at scale—and that effort often gets overlooked.
Drivers, for example, are a critical part of the ecosystem, but the conversation around them tends to get simplified. We need to think harder about how to make the system work better for them—how to boost their earnings further, reduce friction even more, and make tech much more intuitive—while still offering services at a price the rider finds fair.
To me, fairness in this space isn’t just about drawing lines between right and wrong—it’s about recognizing the complexity and building models that allow everyone to participate with dignity and upside, including the business.
As real-time mobility platforms converge multiple sensitive data streams, what regulatory blind spots are you most concerned about?
I’m not anxious about it—I’m curious. There’s a lot happening at the intersection of data, mobility, and real-time tech, and instead of defaulting to fear, I think it’s worth leaning in and asking better questions. As platforms become more integrated, users are demanding ease—fewer logins, faster access, and smoother journeys. But that simplicity comes with real privacy trade-offs, and we are figuring out how to regulate that.
What I find exciting is watching how platforms respond—how they build trust while still pushing the envelope. And that’s not just limited to mobility.
With EV infrastructure and climate regulation on the rise, how can companies stay agile in the face of fast-evolving environmental policy?
Agility comes from treating regulation as a design input, not an afterthought. With EVs and climate policy evolving fast, companies need to build systems that are flexible and forward-looking.
One key advantage is learning from global markets—but the real skill is adapting those insights to India, not copy-pasting them. What works elsewhere won’t always work here. The winners will be those who can read the regulatory landscape early, stay close to policymakers, and build for both compliance and context.
Looking ahead, which legal challenge do you think will most disrupt how mobility tech works?
Of course, these views are in my personal capacity, but I think one of the biggest legal challenges ahead for mobility tech will be around accountability—especially as platforms become more data-driven and decisions increasingly shaped by algorithms.
Whether it’s pricing, routing, safety, or service delivery, technology is making real-time decisions that affect millions. But when something goes wrong, it’s not always clear who holds the responsibility—the platform, the code, the business team, or someone else entirely.
We’re moving toward a world where accountability is distributed—but the law isn’t there yet. That mismatch is going to be one of the biggest disruptors. Until we have clear, context-aware legal frameworks, every breakthrough in tech will come with a question mark in court.
*Disclaimer: The views expressed in this interview are solely of the author and do not represent the views of any organization with which they are or have been associated with.
About Mitali Daryani:
Mitali Daryani serves as Associate Counsel for India and South Asia at Uber, where she plays a pivotal role in guiding the company through the complex legal and regulatory landscape of one of its most dynamic markets.
Prior to her tenure at Uber, Mitali honed her legal expertise at Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co., in their dispute resolution practice, focusing on technology, media, and commercial litigation. She has advised global tech platforms on regulatory frameworks governing data privacy, intermediary liability, and digital content, and brings deep familiarity with the legal nuances of India’s digital economy.
She holds a B.A. LL.B. (Hons.) from Gujarat National Law University, Gandhinagar. With strong cross-sector experience and a practical, business-focused approach to legal problem-solving, Mitali plays a key role in shaping Uber’s legal outlook in South Asia.
